


Everything is Better When You Can’t Remember It

by ks3v9



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Amenadiel (Lucifer TV) Being an Asshole, Angry Dan Espinoza, BAMF Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), BAMF Mazikeen (Lucifer TV), Background Amenadiel (Lucifer TV), Background Dan Espinoza, Background Mazikeen (Lucifer TV), Case Fic, Chloe Decker Doesn't Know, Chloe bashing, Dan Espinoza Being an Asshole, Devil Face (Lucifer TV), Episode: S01e13 Take Me Back to Hell, Gen, Hurt Lucifer, Hurt Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), Lucifer (TV) Season/Series 01, Lucifer Feels, Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV) Devil Reveal, Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV) Needs A Hug, Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV) Whump, Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV) Wing Reveal, Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV) is Bad at Feelings, Lux (Lucifer TV), Murder, Older Sibling Amenadiel (Lucifer TV), POV Chloe Decker, POV Lucifer, Patrick (Lucifer TV) - Freeform, Patrick the Bartender - Freeform, Post-Lucifer (TV) Season/Series 01, Protective Mazikeen (Lucifer TV), Ruler of Hell Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), Sad Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), Trixie Espinoza Finds Out, Winged Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), chloe doesn't trust lucifer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:53:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 18,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25028035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ks3v9/pseuds/ks3v9
Summary: Chloe knew that her partner was into some shady stuff but she never thought that he would stoop as low as murder. But she couldn't deny the facts in front of her: he killed the preacher and then dropped off the face of the Earth. Lucifer Morningstar was guilty and she couldn't find him anywhere.A what if fic based on if Lucifer has returned to Hell at the end of Season 1.
Comments: 50
Kudos: 111





	1. Author's Note/Preface

**Author's Note:**

> I've set this to 10 chapters so far because it is easier for me to keep up the motivation to write when I have a set goal in mind but I will increase or reduce the number of chapters as is necessary.

**Author’s Note/Preface**

So I was rewatching Lucifer in preparation for season 5a coming out (SO EXCITED) and I came upon the season finale of season 1: “Take Me Back to Hell”. My mind started wondering what would happen if Chloe wasn’t sure whether Lucifer was innocent, Malcolm was never suspected, and Lucifer got his wish the first time after a couple goodbyes. And so, this fic. (Although this is set after the season 1 finale it is extremely likely that I will be pulling in important moments and characters from other episodes throughout the 4 seasons). Despite the endless amounts of fanfiction I have read, I have never written any, only original works, so I will try to do my best. Please feel free to leave constructive criticism but please leave it at that because I have been struggling to find writing enjoyable and I think this might be my way back to that. Please inform me of any mistakes I make in lines that I pull directly from Lucifer, but know that I will be manipulating the scenes a little bit, just some of the actions of some of the characters here and there, nothing major. Also this is unbetaed if that wasn’t obvious.


	2. Take Me Back To Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer asks Amenadiel to take him back to hell but Amenadiel refuses because they need to catch Malcolm so they start to plan how they intend to catch Malcolm. Meanwhile Chloe tries to come to terms with the facts of the case, wanting to believe that Lucifer is innocent, but as the evidence piles up against him even her belief can't stretch that far.

Amenadiel lands on the rooftop with Lucifer in his arms, a grip that Lucifer quickly escapes. 

“Can we not tell anyone you just carried me in your arms like a baby?” Amenadiel spins to face him with an enraged look upon his face.

“What were you trying to accomplish in there?” Lucifer huffs.

“Uh, a good death? Or at least a nice and messy one. But then you had to come and ruin everything, like always.” He pulls out a cigarette and his lighter but can’t light up because of the rain pouring down around him and his brother. He groans but removes the cigarette from his mouth before putting it away. “Why’d you swoop in and stop it? Wouldn’t let someone else send me to hell, is that it? Well, guess what, brother, you don’t need to kill me, because I’m done here. I’ve had my fun on Earth, and…” Lucifer sighs “...there’s no reason for me to stay anymore. You win. I’ll go willingly. Please, just… take me back to hell.” Lucifer looks away from Amenadiel, unable to face him when he knows that all of his pain and hopelessness is clearly visible among his features. Amenadiel, to his credit, looks rather sheepish as he faces Lucifer with his shoulders squared, looking ready for a fight, and says, “No.”

He sighs deeply and Lucifer frowns, not comprehending anything that Amenadiel is saying. “You don’t want to take me back to hell? The one bloody thing you wanted this entire time?! Did I punch you in the head too hard?” Amenadiel shakes his head in earnest, trying to prove that he knows what he did wrong and understands why he cannot take his youngest brother back to Hell just yet.

“Maze was right, Luci. We used her. And Malcolm. People have died because of us.” This is met with a narrowing of Lucifer’s eyes and he clarifies Amenadiel’s words.

“Because of you, you mean.”

“Yes. Because of me.”

“Right.” Lucifer looks slightly vindicated but still lost, hurt, and confused. It seems like Amenadiel wants him to keep talking but eventually takes pity on him and continues the conversation once more.

“Brother, somehow I lost sight of the bigger picture, of the cost of my actions, and just how truly selfish they were. But, Luci, my eyes are wide open now, and I need to make this right.” Lucifer looks at Amenadiel with suspicion on his face and disbelief in his eyes.

“Do you know, I think this side of you is actually scarier than the angry one.” Amenadiel huffs and looks to the heavens, mentally pleading for help in dealing with his younger brother, or at least for an understanding of his plight. 

“I need to find Malcolm, and I need to send him back to Hell. Will you help me, brother?” Lucifer looks Amenadiel up and down, no doubt searching for manipulation in Amenadiel’s voice and the way he holds himself. When he doesn’t find it, only conviction, he sighs.

“One last bit of punishment on the way out?” Lucifer thinks about it for a couple of moments before his gaze hardens with determination as he reaches his final decision. “It sounds like fun to me.”

* * *

“I just don’t believe that he’d do this Dan. I…” Chloe breaks off and sighs. “I can’t believe that he would do something like this. I mean I know that he’s a shady guy who makes all kinds of shady deals. And, I know that he was fighting with the victim hours before. I know all of this, I just don’t think this is something Lucifer would do.” She looks at Dan helplessly, pain evident in her features. It isn’t so much that she doesn’t think Lucifer is capable of something like this, but that she doesn’t want to believe he is capable of murder. True, he was nonchalant and uncaring around dead bodies in a way that gave her the creeps sometimes, but she always felt that when it came down to it, he did—and would do—the right thing. Especially since he was so big on punishing those responsible. Murder just didn’t seem to fit with the persona of her devilish partner.

“I’m really sorry Chlo but all of the evidence is pointing towards him.” Dan puts a hand on her shoulder. “The victim was found dead in his club, the murder weapon was behind the bar, he provoked police officers into almost killing him before fleeing arrest, and now he’s nowhere to be found. If he is innocent it would really help us if we could get his statement, so there’s at least something on his side. Do you think that you could get ahold of him? Convince him to come down to the station and turn himself in?” Chloe shakes her head and frowns again.

“He doesn’t own a cell phone.” Dan makes a sound of disbelief. “It’s true Dan. He brought it up whenever he was whining about me leaving him somewhere that made it difficult to get home.” Dan finds it hard to believe that the billionaire playboy didn’t have a phone given how much sex he had. Even if Lucifer had managed to handle his lifestyle without a phone there is no feasible way that he made all of his money and ran a business without a phone. Clearly Lucifer just hadn’t deemed the police department important enough to trust with the “privilege” of knowing his phone number. But the fact that he had lied to Chloe despite his insistence that he only tells the truth? It definitely didn’t help Dan’s perception of him.

“Well, if we can’t get ahold of him then we can’t get his statement, so whatever little help it would have provided is gone.” Dan paces in front of where Chloe is sitting. “As it stands this is an extremely high-profile case. The murders were already featured in the news, then Lucifer makes the news with his fight with the vic, and now all of the evidence points to him?” He scrubs a hand down his face with a sigh. He loves his ex-wife but sometimes she just can’t see the details that are right in front of her. She’s too close to Lucifer and that is impacting her ability to investigate the case properly. “He was a civilian consultant with the LAPD and with all of the evidence piled against him, if we don’t arrest him then we will be likely be sued for corruption.” He turns to look at her again, pity in his eyes. “I’m really sorry Chloe. But Lucifer Morningstar is going to prison, maybe for the rest of his life."

* * *

With a sudden rush of air Amenadiel and Lucifer land on the roof of LUX. Lucifer quickly steps away, glad that he didn’t have to be held like a baby this time. Although, maybe he would have preferred that than being held to Amenadiel’s chest. There really is no way to comfortably hitch a ride with your angelic older brother, at least not without feeling extremely awkward. He clears his throat and brushes his hand down his suit jacket to smooth the perceived wrinkles. 

Amenadiel rolls his eyes. “So. How do we go about finding Malcolm and returning him to Hell? Do we even have to go after him or can we wait for human law enforcement to find him?” Lucifer hums lightly in thought.

“Unfortunately I do not think that our job will be that easy. See, the stand-off you stopped happened because they found a murdered preacher in my bar. I had just gotten into a bit of an argument with him on the street that came to blows and it was filmed. Of course, I didn’t murder him, Father’s rules and all, but I believe that Detective ‘Stache was the one behind his death, and as much as I loathe to admit it, he did have passing levels of intelligence.” Amenadiel looks confused as to why that matters. Lucifer scoffs. “Meaning… that he probably figured out a way to pin the murder on me, and given the fact that police cars are still surrounding my club, I would say that it has worked.”

“Then what’s the plan?” Lucifer takes his flask from the inside of his jacket and takes a pull. 

“First things first. What do I get in return for helping you fix your mistakes?” He quirks an eyebrow as he looks at Amenadiel with a challenge in his eyes. Amenadiel nods with a resigned look in his eyes.

“I should have known that your help would require a deal.” He gestured a hand towards Lucifer. “Out with it, what do you want in return? Surely not to remain on Earth? Because I already granted you that favor.” Lucifer shook his head slightly.

“Of course not, if that were the case I would simply leave our last deal in place or ask that we maintain the terms.” Amenadiel looked at him questioningly. “All I ask is that you let me have my vacations on Earth, as many as I desire, and without interference, provided that I return within the time span of 5 Earth years.” Amenadiel looks off into the distance as he thinks about it. 

“Nothing in those terms would prevent you from returning for another vacation after only one Earth day. Hell cannot go without a ruler for that amount of time. A counteroffer. You may have your vacations in peace, without any interruptions from me or our siblings, as long as 50 Earth years pass between each of your visits and you return to Hell peacefully at the end of each vacation.” Now it is Lucifer’s turn to grin.

“If that is to be the case then I would like up to 10 Earth years per vacation if I am to spend so long locked up in Hell between each visit.” Amenadiel glances towards the sky as though searching for answers before mulling it over and nodding carefully.

“I suppose that roughly 3,650 years out of Hell is reasonable for at least 9,125 years between every gap. You have a deal.” Lucifer’s grin grows with manic glee and shakes Amenadiel’s hand eagerly.

“Deal! May I have some time to say a few goodbyes after we deal with Malcolm and before I return to Hell? Given that it is highly unlikely that I will return within the next 100 years at least.” Amenadiel nods slightly, hoping that this deal won’t come back to bite him in the ass like his previous deal with his little brother did. Lucifer claps his hands once.

“Right! Malcolm is slightly more difficult to deal with than he would have been because now he has something of mine that we need to retrieve from him before we return his soul to Hell.” Amenadiel looks concerned, his mind flicking through images of every possible item of Lucifer’s that Malcolm could have. Lucifer sees this pass across his older brother’s face and decides to clarify. “He has my Pentecostal coin. I gave it to him in return for him not shooting him, you know, back when you were still trying to kill me.” He sends a pointed look in Amenadiel’s direction.

“I apologized for that!”

“No! You didn’t! In fact, you scolded me for sending Maze after you and not having the ‘balls to do it myself’! At least I sent an infernal being and not a puny human!” Amenadiel shrugs.

“I’m sorry brother but—”

“No no! Leave it there! No buts! Just sorry brother!” Amenadiel glares. “Apology accepted by the way. Now! We need to figure out what Malcolm is planning next because I can’t imagine that he would wait around for the police to find some evidence that it was actually him responsible for the recent Satanic murders and the murder of the priest.” He pauses for a moment, thinking about how much more he has to torture Malcolm with in Hell, cause he will ensure that Malcolm would get some special treatment once they were down there. 

“—go to so he could skip town?” Lucifer snaps back to attention and looks at Amenadiel, clearly having only caught the very last part of his question. Amenadiel gives a long-suffering sigh but repeats himself. “You said he wouldn’t wait around to get caught, I agree. I was asking where you got your human documents when you first arrived on Earth all those years ago. Because Malcolm needs a new identity to start a new life, if we go to the man you met he will likely know who Malcolm would go to so he could skip town.” Lucifer looks at Amenadiel in utter shock. “What?”

“It’s just that I could not have thought of a better place to start myself. I’m surprised that you came to that conclusion before I did.” He looks into Amenadiel’s eyes. “And I need to make sure that you are still my brother and not some kind of synthetic.” Amenadiel tilts his head in confusion. “Nevermind. It’s a movie. It’s a good idea! Let’s go!” With another swift displacement of the air around them, the two brothers were gone, off to find the funeral director with the shady side business. 

* * *

Chloe never thought that she would end up investigating her devilish partner. No. Scratch that. That isn’t true at all. She thought that she would end up investigating him for drug use, selling drugs, making deals with criminals, being the head of a mafia or a criminal organization, money laundering, tax evasion, any number of offenses. But she never thought that she would wind up investigating him for murder. She wanted to believe that he was innocent, that he, despite his insistence that he was the Devil, wouldn’t kill someone. Especially not someone that, previous to that day, he had no prior history with. She didn’t want to acknowledge the possibility that she had been ready to accept him and his “nastier side” as he liked to say and that her reward was the fact that her job required her to arrest him, just as she was starting to finally get him to open up around her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter should be up in the next two days!
> 
> Edit: I changed the time scheme in Lucifer and Amenadiel’s deal because I feel like it makes more sense this way. I think I will maintain that there isn't a fixed time difference between Earth and Hell, so a day on Earth doesn't always equal a day in Hell, it fluctuates, but that this time difference is the most common.
> 
> Edit 2: Next chapter is up!


	3. I Am The Predator, You Are The Prey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer goes after Malcolm and reminds him why people are so afraid of him and what he represents. Amenadiel is injured so Maze and Lucifer find a way to save him, but it has some unexpected effects.

As they walk in, Lucifer notices a sweaty guy at the front of the room babbling nonsense about a broken toaster and BLTs. He had no clue how that related to the dead man in the coffin but knew that he had no patience for traditional human funerals and eulogies. 

“Excuse me!” he cried out as the whole room turned to look at him and Amenadiel standing in the back. He noticed the funeral director’s eyes widen slightly, a minute movement that would’ve been imperceptible to humans. “Yeah, sorry to interrupt the riveting eulogy, but I’m here to see the funeral director.” He focused his eyes on the man he came to see as he continued. “Hello, Neil. Remember me?” The man put his hand up in the air motioning for Lucifer to stop and wait before he kept talking. “In a bit of a rush, unfortunately. Whereas this poor chap, well, he’s not going anywhere, is he?” 

Neil’ scoffed slightly as he addressed Lucifer with an exasperated tone. “Sir, please wait until after we’re finished. This is disrespectful.” He looked between the guests and Lucifer meaningfully hoping that the other man would get the hint to make himself scarce for now and come back after the proceedings were over. He should have known better.

“Uh, no, _this_ is disrespectful,” Lucifer says incredulously. “I mean, this whole show--who’s it for, really? Eh? Not him.” As he spoke the funeral director shifted his weight and looked at the guests, feeling more stressed out by the second. Lucifer completely ignored this as he turned his attention to speak directly to the people attending the funeral. “Not him. He’s not hearing any of this. Would you back me up, please, bro?” He turns toward his brother still standing in the back of the room.

Amenadiel tilts his head forward with a sheepish look on his face. “He is right.” 

Lucifer grins, victorious. “See? Trust me, he should know. No, it’s for you, isn’t it? It’s a selfish way for you to all feel better about yourselves about how much you ignored this poor sod in life.” As he spoke Amenadiel walked up towards the front of the room. Lucifer asks a guest distastefully if they chose the suit before the funeral director decides to step in and pulls Lucifer and Amenadiel to the side, Lucifer telling the guests to feel free to continue the funeral. 

“You have no right disrupting this funeral. This is my business.” The funeral director says frustratedly.

“Yes. Your least profitable one. Your main source of income is creating new identities which is why I came to you five years ago to get my proper papers and all that.” 

The funeral director holds up his hands placatingly as he says “And I did great work for you, Mr. Morningstar. So, why are you doing this?” 

“Well, if I know you’re the best, then Malcolm Graham does, as well.”

After he says this Neil sighs and nods. “The cop.” Lucifer nods and slightly mouths the word yes. “Yeah, he needed it to be done fast, but said he’d need time to get his hands on the 100k.” When it comes down to it he would rather have the business of people like Mr. Morningstar than a seedy cop who looked ready to kill anyone who got in his way. 

At this point, Amenadiel joins the conversation. “Where would a homicide detective get that kind of money quickly?” Lucifer looks at him with surprise before giving him a quick up and down glance.

“Mm, look at you, Sherlock.” Internally he was wondering the same thing and running through a list of the shadier places he knew in his mind, picking out which ones he thought would help out a man such as Malcolm. 

The funeral director sighs again. “He mentioned going to get a drink with an old associate. Tommy, I think.” He looked to Lucifer, making it clear that this was all of the information he knew. 

As Lucifer nodded the tiniest amount at his cooperation, Amenadiel responded with sarcasm. “Great. We’ll do a search for every ‘Tommy’ in Los Angeles. What’s another thousand years?” 

Lucifer interjected quickly, “No, no, no, no. An old associate named Tommy he wanted to grab a drink with, you say? I think I know exactly where he went.” He thanked Neil for his time before spinning on his heel and walking out with Amenadiel right behind him.

“So, brother? Where did he go?” 

“There was a drug dealer I used to do business with, went by the name Tommy and he operated out of an old brewery on Third. One time he mentioned that most of his supply came from cops who were willing to move product for him in exchange for some cash. That sounds right up Malcolm’s alley. Wouldn’t you agree?”

* * *

  
  


Lucifer grinned as he kicked the last groaning body one more time before taking off in the opposite direction of Amenadiel. He had sent out a summons for Maze on the drive over with a message attached, telling her how they were going after Malcolm and would appreciate the help if she would be willing to provide it. He hoped that she would turn up despite how angry she was with him, but after she had betrayed him he didn’t know if he could count on her to be his right-hand demon anymore and that was a damn shame. He contemplated whether or not he would even give her a chance to be taken back to Hell as he stalked through the corridors of the factory. He kept an eye out for Malcolm, half-hoping that Malcolm would try to shoot him. He knew that Malcolm still thought he was mortal and wanted to watch the hope drain out of his eyes as he realized how screwed he really was. He heard the slightest of noises behind him and turned in time to spot Maze. Despite himself, he still was excited to see her.

“Maze! So lovely of you to join us! I take it you received my summons?” She just glared at him. “Right, still pissed with me. Well, we still appreciate your generous aid. Have you spotted Malcolm yet?” 

She quirks a brow at him in response. “Do you think I would be standing here talking to you if I had already found him?” The two of them hear a clatter down one of the other corridors and turn towards it in sync. He vaguely hears Amenadiel grunt in pain and quickly looks at Maze, knowing she heard it as well. They take off in a run in the direction of the two men.

Lucifer rounds the corner and sees Amenadiel, Malcolm, and the demon blade sticking out of Amenadiel’s side. He hears Maze growl and when Malcolm sees them he grabs his bag of cash and takes off running. Lucifer wants to chase after him but knows that he can’t leave his brother behind. Luckily, Maze says she will handle it and tells Lucifer to go and take Malcolm down. Lucifer climbs the stairs and calls after Malcolm in a sing-song voice, “Come out come out wherever you are… you can’t escape the inevitable, Malcolm.” He sees movement behind one of the pieces of machinery and notices a gun pointed at his chest before Malcolm starts shooting. He empties the gun into Lucifer’s chest while Lucifer just stands there with a manic grin on his face. He cocks his head, “Oh, did I not tell you? I’m no longer mortal. Which means you can’t hurt me.” Malcolm’s eyes grow wide with fear as he turns and sprints down the corridor, hoping to escape the Devil. He hears Lucifer’s slow steps following him. “You know, humans consider themselves to be the top predator on the planet. And there was a time when that was true. Humans used to track their prey down relentlessly, finding it again and again. No matter how far the poor creature ran, humans were always there again. They would literally chase their target until it died from exhaustion. It was a brilliant tactic, but who do you think taught them that?” Lucifer pauses briefly before resuming with dark hunger in his voice “I taught them that Malcolm. I taught humans how to hunt, and now, those same tactics will be used to hunt you down, because you can’t escape someone who is always there.”

Malcolm turns a corner and finds himself in a dead-end. He hears Lucifer approaching and his little whistle. _Dead_ , he thinks, _I’m a dead man_ . He puts his back against the far wall and waits for his predator to finish its approach. _My only choice is to try and fight, then come back and make his life on Earth hell._

Lucifer knows that the footsteps have come to a halt and figures that Malcolm has hit a dead end, he quickens his place slightly, eager to get vengeance on the man who dared to kill innocents in his name. As he turns the corner Malcolm runs at him, fists flying. Lucifer blocks every single punch with ease, toying with Malcolm before finally punching him in the face and breaking his nose. He grabs Malcolm by the throat and pins him to the wall, holding him up in the air slightly as Malcolm’s hands come up to desperately scrabble at his hand. “Caught you.” He reaches into Malcolm’s jacket and pulls out his Pentecostal coin, Malcolm’s eyes widen, even more, knowing that now, he had no chance at escaping Hell.

“C’mon man, please. I get it now. I’ll change. I promise!” Malcolm rasped, willing to say or agree to anything if it meant Lucifer would spare his life. 

Lucifer chuckles mirthlessly. “No. You don’t. Because when you humans promise something you don’t actually mean it. Your word means nothing to you and your sentences are filled with lies. That is yet another difference between us, one among multitudes. But you thought there weren’t that many, that it didn’t matter. You thought we were alike. ‘You and I, we’re the same you said’” Lucifer gets even closer to Malcolm, all amusement gone from his features. He could sense Maze in the scaffolding above him and knew that meant she needed help with Amenadiel so he had to finish this. “You thought that you could compare yourself to The Fallen One, Satan, the Prince of Darkness. You thought that you knew everything about me, from what, some stories? Well, I will make this very clear, so even your small human brain can comprehend it. I am not a senseless murderer. I have never killed a human. And most importantly, you and I? We are nothing alike. To me, you are a small little ant. You know the downside to being an ant?” he says with his lip curling in disgust. “You’re easily squashed.” Lucifer lets go and takes a big step backward as Maze knocks down some of the machinery up above. Malcolm only has time to look up in fear before it hits and he is crushed beneath it. Lucifer grins up at Maze. “Thank you my darling demon.” She rolls her eyes.

“I swear you never stop talking. Now let’s go, I need your help with your brother. His angelic ass is too heavy for me to lift on my own.” Lucifer nods and follows after her. They quickly make their way back to Amenadiel who is barely conscious and slipping away rather fast. With Lucifer at his feet and Maze at his head, they manage to carry him to the entrance of the building where he has to lean on both of them so they don’t get any odd looks. They successfully get him into Maze’s car—Lucifer doesn’t want blood on his seats—and she drives them back to LUX.

Lucifer calls two of his employees forward and tells him where he left his car along with a request for them to go fetch it before lugging Amenadiel out of Maze’s car and having them resume their previous positions. He knew he didn’t actually need Maze to lift Amenadiel but refrained from telling her because he could hear Amenadiel’s complaints. They got him into the elevator and made their way into the penthouse. Lucifer noticed mindlessly that there weren’t any police around and knew that Patrick must have called the lawyer he had on standby to come and take care of things. With Amenadiel successfully placed on the couch, Lucifer pulled up his shirt to reveal the wound underneath. He sucks in a breath before looking at Maze.

“There’s nothing we can do. The wound is too deep and because it was made by a hell-forged blade it won’t heal regularly. It would take something divine to heal him now.” He looks over at his brother, despite all of the hatred he held for him he didn’t want his brother to die, especially because he didn’t know if Amenadiel would return to the Silver City in death or not.

“Can’t we just use one of his feathers to heal him? Those are divine right?”

“Angels can’t heal themselves with their own feathers, it’s a process that uses divine energy and he can’t use divine energy that is leaking away from him to patch the leak. Besides, even if he could he was injured by one of **your** blades Mazikeen. Only one of my feathers could heal him.” 

Maze looks back at Lucifer sharply. “So, if we had one of your feathers, we could heal him?”

Lucifer nods. “Yes, but we don’t. I burnt my wings on the beach, so there aren’t any more.” He looks confused as Maze gets up and heads for the elevator. “Where are you going?” He receives no answer and has to wait until she returns a couple of minutes later. “So… why’d you run off like that?” She looks a little bit nervous when looking at him which only increases his curiosity.

“I kept one of your feathers. One of them didn’t burn so when I went to clean up your mess on the beach I took it and kept it safe in the hopes that it could take us home. But...would it heal him?”

Lucifer grins at her. “Yes! It would heal him!” He takes the box with the feather in it from her and turns back towards Amenadiel. “And besides, the feather is a moot point now that--” he trails off as he turns to tell Maze that he decided he wanted to return to Hell only to find that she wasn’t there. “Oh well,” he mutters to himself, “that’s a problem for later.” He carefully places his feather on Amenadiel’s wound and grins as a burst of light begins to grow and spread across the penthouse. Amenadiel looks down with joy before the energy in the feather overpowers the little will keeping him awake and knocks him out so that he can begin healing. 

Lucifer takes a deep breath in relief, glad that his brother isn’t going to bleed out on his sofa. He walks over and disables the elevator, knowing that Maze could find another way in if needed and sits back down on the couch beside his brother. After sitting for a bit he notices that he can’t seem to get comfortable and stands. His shoulders are incessantly itchy and he cannot, for the life of him, figure out why. He rolls his shoulders back hoping to relieve the ache and feels the pressure lessen. He turns to sit back down and his eyes widen. He doesn’t have any idea how, but his wings are back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I only had these two chapters written before I decided to post the first one. So it may be a few more days before the next chapter is out but I will try my best to have it out before Monday!


	4. Mr. David Williams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe confronts Lieutenant Olivia Monroe in a last-ditch effort to help Lucifer and when she heads to LUX she learns about a whole new side of Lucifer courtesy of Mr. David Williams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter involves a bit more chloe bashing because I couldn't resist, it's still decently subtle though.

Lieutenant Monroe hears the door of her office open but doesn’t look up from her paperwork. “Decker, please. This is the third time you have been in my office. I know what you’re going to say and you know what I am going to say.” 

Chloe walks past the doorway. “I know Lieutenant, but please, hear me out?” 

Olivia sighs and puts her pen down before directing her attention to the woman standing in front of her. “Alright.”

Chloe takes a deep breath. “I know it sounds crazy but I don’t think Lucifer did this. I don’t think he killed that preacher, he’s being set up.”

The Lieutenant nodded slowly. “And what makes you say that?”

“Think about the crime and then think about Lucifer. He is all about desire and passion! The victim was executed by a single bullet to the head. It’s simple. Too simple for Lucifer.”

“Why do you think it’s too simple for him?” 

Chloe freezes. “Well, uh, whenever he would… um… make a comment toward someone, they tended to be much more… what’s the word… colorful?” she says haltingly. 

“Uh-huh. So you’re telling me that Lucifer could not have killed that man with a gunshot to the head because his threats were always much more violent? Not to mention the overwhelming amount of evidence that points to him being the murderer. The body and murder weapon were found in his club Decker.” The Lieutenant looks at her with slight pity. “Are you sure you’re looking at things clearly?” 

“But you didn’t find his prints on the murder weapon, did you? No DNA either? His club is open all the time and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t believe in locks. Anyone could have moved the body and the gun there.” Chloe sounds desperate now. 

“We found unidentified prints on the gun, Detective. We can’t confirm if they are Lucifer’s because he doesn’t have any prints on file. That alone is suspicious because anybody working with the LAPD is supposed to have prints in the system. I know for a fact that he was told it was required, because I told him, but he managed to circumvent it. Now he won’t even come in for questioning? Do those actions sound like those of an innocent person?” She shakes her head slightly. “I’m putting a BOLO out on him. Lucifer Morningstar is to be declared extremely dangerous, only to be approached with caution and only if you have a weapon on hand.”

Chloe looked confused. “That seems a little extreme. Lucifer isn’t dangerous. He’s a narcissistic, hedonistic playboy. He’d never hurt anyone.”

The Lieutenant looks at Chloe with disbelief. “Are you positive Detective? Because you’ve seen the suspects after he’s talked to them. Hell, you had to visit Jimmy Barnes in the mental hospital, and when you mentioned Lucifer’s name he started pounding his head against the glass until orderlies had to come in and subdue him.” Chloe looked confused. “Yeah, I heard about that. I told the hospital to inform me of any updates they had on him so I heard about your little visit. Maybe if he was the only one it would be a different story but you’ve seen them, the fear in their eyes, their eagerness to confess? It isn’t a normal reaction, and not one they’d have to someone who isn’t dangerous. Besides, you’ve seen him fight. I’ve seen him take down five armed criminals on his own, in a three-piece Armani suit, without getting injured, and without breaking a sweat. I’m sure he could take down even more, it takes some serious training to accomplish that. He’s a skilled fighter on his own, that’s not even including his right-hand, Mazikeen. You’ve seen her take down 10 men and all of them ended up in the hospital. Some of them are still suffering from their injuries, months later, and some of them will have to deal with the aftereffects for the rest of their lives. There’s no escaping it Decker, Lucifer is a dangerous man. He was a valuable asset to the LAPD, but now that he’s turned his back on us we can’t keep protecting him.” 

Chloe’s face continued to fall as she considered all of the evidence that Lieutenant Monroe presented. “Okay. Okay. But please, give me one more shot at bringing him in safely. I don’t want this to turn into a shoot-out, and I’m sure that you feel the same way. Please, just give me a chance, if he is not in this station for questioning within 24 hours then you can send out all the BOLOs you want. I just don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

Olivia considered for a long moment, thinking about everything that Detective Decker had said. Finally, she sighs. “Alright, you get one more go at bringing him in for questioning. But know that he is only receiving this consideration because he did good work for us. If he was anyone else, his ass would already be arrested and likely in prison. Remind him that it is the kindness of my department that is keeping him out of jail.” Chloe nods and turns for the door. “Oh and Decker? If he hurts **any** of my officers, I will not hesitate to personally escort him to prison and ensure he stays there for the rest of his life. Understood?” She meets Chloe’s eyes. 

Chloe nods. “Yes, Lieutenant.”

She turns back to her work, “Dismissed Decker”, and Chloe leaves.

* * *

Chloe pulls up to LUX with a bunch of police cars behind and is surprised to see that even though it’s nearing opening time for the club there isn’t a line outside the door. She takes both of her guns and motions for the other officers to stay back a bit. She starts to walk in the door but the bouncer stops her. 

“Sorry ma’am, LUX is closed for renovations and the boss is out.” 

She looks at him, confused. “Sorry, are you new? I’m Chloe Decker, Lucifer’s partner with the LAPD. He told me that he had me on some kind of list so that I was always allowed in?” 

The bouncer’s eyes widen a little bit at how snobby she sounds. “I’m not new ma’am. I’ve been working for Lucifer for the past four years. I know exactly who you are, but that list only applies to when the club is open or the boss is in. As it stands, neither of those statements is true so nobody is allowed in, not even you.” He lets a small smirk across his face.

She forces a smile. “Look Mr…” “Williams” he supplies, “Mr. Williams. I need to get inside of this establishment. Are you going to let me in or do I need to get a warrant?” She waits patiently for him to respond, hoping that she wasn’t going to have to go get a warrant because her fellow officers would take it as proof that she was wrong about Lucifer.

“I told you, ma’am, no one is allowed in if the boss isn’t here and the club is closed. You can get a warrant if you want but it won’t change the fact that he simply isn’t here.” Chloe nodded and turned to leave internally dreading all of the pointed comments she would receive from the others. 

* * *

With a new warrant issued by a judge, she heads back to LUX. She gets out and walks straight up to the bouncer with a smile on her face. “Mr. Williams, I’ve got a warrant. Do I need to use it or will you let me in peacefully?” 

He grins sarcastically, “Hell, we’re good friends now, call me David.” He chuckles but she doesn’t smile.

“Mr. Williams, this is your last chance to cooperate peacefully.” He holds his hands up in mock surrender.

“Of course ma’am, just show me the warrant and I can unlock that door for you.” She shows it to him and he examines it carefully before nodding and flashing a keycard in front of the reader at the door. “But, as I told you, ma’am, he isn’t here.” 

Chloe nods thoughtfully, knowing that if that keycard reader had been there before she had never seen it. “And would you tell me if he was?”

One side of David’s mouth quirks up. “That’s a good question ma’am. I’ve got one for you. Would you be able to provide me with a job with amazing pay, benefits, and work environment? Would you be able to ensure that I can provide for my family? Would you be able to guarantee I get another boss as amazing as Mr. Morningstar? A man who ensures that his employees are always safe, comfortable, and protected? Would you be able to do that Detective Decker?” He tilts his head as he awaits his answer.

She opens and shuts her mouth a couple of times, she had seen Lucifer be good to his employees but she had no clue if that had just been for show. Apparently it wasn’t. “No, I can’t say that I would be able to.”

“Well, then I can’t say that I would be able to tell you if he was in or not.”

She nods before pushing past him through the double doors and into the club. It looked much different when it was closed with all of the lights up. She had seen it before when Lucifer had hosted that charity fundraiser here but it was somehow much more haunting walking through here on her own. She felt like her every move was being watched. She walked over to the elevator and when the doors opened she stepped inside. She pressed the button for the penthouse and waited for the doors to shut. They did but after a minute, she realized that the elevator wasn’t moving. She pressed the open door button and it worked so she headed back out to talk to David. “Is the elevator broken?” she asked. 

“No ma’am.” With that simple sentence she had her suspicions confirmed that Lucifer was here and likely up in the penthouse, he must have disabled the elevator. 

“So now Lucifer is asking his employees to lie for him? That doesn’t sound like a fair thing for a boss to ask from those working for him.” She watches as David’s open and easy-going expression shutters and turns cold.

“Mr. Morningstar would never ask any of his employees to do anything immoral and he would never use his position of power, or his riches, to make us feel less than.” David’s voice is cold with fury now and it is clear that he is fiercely protective over his boss.

“So why are you lying for him, Mr. Williams? I know he’s up in the penthouse.” Chloe felt exasperated, why couldn’t this man see that she was just trying to help? 

“Because he doesn’t need to ask us to. Every single one of his employees, including me, are people that he saved from a bad situation. He took us in, gave us jobs, helped us when no one else would. I speak for all of his employees when I say that whatever help he needs? We will provide aid. Not because it’s required. Not because he pays us to. Not because we owe him favors. But because it’s what he did for us. We know that he will always protect us so we will always protect him.” David started to walk away but Chloe called his name. 

“If I may, what did he do that was so important to earn your unfettered loyalty?” She waits, assuming that since Lucifer solved the problem, it was something sleazy like avoiding child support. 

David hesitates before deciding to share his story with the detective, if only so that she could see what a good man Lucifer was, why he didn’t deserve her coming after him. “I was wrongfully accused and arrested for murder,” he says “I’m sure you can guess why.” Chloe’s face fell as she nodded slowly. 

“Oh.” 

“Yeah. I fit the description so I was picked up. I was about to go to jail for the rest of my life, my family would have been out on the streets and left to starve. I heard about a guy who gave out favors so I sought him out and offered him anything he wanted if he would just protect my family. He refused, telling me that he wasn’t going to protect him because he was going to make sure I could. That he didn’t stand for people getting convicted of crimes they didn’t commit, something about only punishing the guilty. He told me that he would help me and all he asked in return is for me to **consider** taking a job working for him. He made it clear that his help didn’t hinge on me accepting the job. But he found the evidence the police needed to convict the actual murderer who, funnily enough, didn’t look anything like me.” He shakes his head derisively. “I was released. But, he wasn’t satisfied. See, he found out how I was treated while in custody, and he has no tolerance for those who punish the innocent.” David paused for a moment. “You know reports never work. Not against cops who looked like them, who’s only crimes were against people like me. But Lucifer, he made sure that those officers were fired from the force for what they did to me, made sure people knew what they were guilty of, and made it crystal clear to them that if they were ever to do something like that again, he would personally hunt them down and make their lives a living hell.” David laughs a tiny bit, “He had actually offered to do that originally but I turned him down, said I was fine with him making sure they had truly learned their lesson. Afterward, he asked me if I had considered working for him, and if I had my answer. Once he made his actual offer I knew it would be stupid to turn it down so I accepted and haven’t had a single regret. Going to see him that day was the best decision I could have possibly made.” He looked her straight in the eyes. “This is only **my** story of how he saved me. Everyone here has a similar story, some are worse than mine. Everyone here owes him, even if he insists we don’t. So we help him out however we can.” 

Chloe is silent, taking in the tale she was just told, not knowing that this whole other side of Lucifer existed. She didn’t know what to say. 

David let her sit for a bit before noticing the time and standing. “Now, if you don’t mind detective, that warrant is only for the actual club, not Lucifer’s home, so even if I could activate the elevator, I wouldn’t. But, we have a staff meeting soon and like mine, a lot of employees’ stories involve bad cops. We don’t trust them much around here, so while you are welcome if you wish to stay, your fellow officers outside are not.” Chloe nods, standing up and walking towards the door before pausing. 

“If you really want what’s best for him then please let him know that if he doesn’t show at the station for questioning within 24 hours then a BOLO will be put out on him declaring him extremely dangerous and cops will be looking to arrest him, not just question him. I’m trying to make sure nobody gets hurt. Please help me with that?” David sighs, looking at her.

“Okay, I’ll tell him. But I’ve got a question for you Detective. Why are you so intent on clearing his name?” Chloe looks at him confused, wondering why his employee wouldn’t want Lucifer’s name cleared.

“I don’t think that he murdered that preacher and I want to catch the person who did.” She starts to turn again but hears David call out once more. 

“I believe you, but I don’t think that’s all there is to it. In fact, I don’t think you would work with him again, even if his name was cleared.” Chloe freezes, knowing that he was right, that she didn’t fully trust Lucifer anymore, and didn’t know if she would be able to again. “I think you want to clear his name because you’re desperate to protect your reputation.” Chloe looks back at the slightly smug grin on his face before rushing out. But his all-knowing gaze sticks with her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mr. David Williams, is he human or not? Will he appear again or not? Your guess is as good as mine because he was just supposed to be an unnamed bouncer! XD
> 
> Please let me know if anything that I wrote as part of his character or his story is disrespectful because I am not a POC so while I try my best, I always want to be better.
> 
> Things are starting to blow up and they haven't even found out that Malcolm's dead yet. Wonder what's going to happen when that shit hits the fan? Guess we'll find out!
> 
> Next chapter should be up within a couple of days, I'd say Tuesday at the latest. But, I also said by Monday for this chapter and ended up writing it in a couple of hours so who knows.
> 
> Edit: Next chapter is up...kinda...read those notes for more info


	5. Goodbyes : LUX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer says goodbye to the friends he has made among those who work for him, hoping that he never sees them again. He also sets some plans in motion for the future, some ground rules for how the club should be run, and appoints a person to run it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so much shorter. It was supposed to be all of his goodbyes in the one chapter but some characters wouldn't cooperate and let me get inside their heads. I will likely divide the other goodbyes up individually because it might be easier for me to attain.

Lucifer stepped out of the elevator and greeted all of his staff members gathered in LUX. He had called an emergency staff meeting so he could say goodbye to those he had taken in and protected over the years. They all looked back at him, confusion clear in their faces. He knew that if he was any other boss they would look more concerned but he had proven to them that no matter what he would take care of them. 

“What’s going on?” Patrick asks. His eyes track Lucifer as he walks down the stairs and comes to a stop in front of the group.

Lucifer takes a breath before beginning. “I’m sure you all know that before I made my way to Los Angeles, I held a different position down south.” He never really knew if his employees knew the truth about him but he didn’t care either way as long as they never felt as though they were in danger from him. He sees nods throughout the crowd in front of him. “Unfortunately, I will be returning to my previous position and leaving Los Angeles behind. I will be establishing a company under the name MorningStar Corporation. That company will own this club but I would still like to appoint a manager if someone would be willing to fulfill that role. All I ask is that you run it in a way that I would be proud of. And if you do accept and then ever decide to sell it, that you sell it to someone who will also run it in a way that I would be proud of, even if you lose money on the sale.” He looked around the crowd, “I have a couple of choices in mind as first in line but I would honestly be pleased with any of you running this place. But, first, I would like to offer the position to Patrick? You’ve been working here since the club first opened so I thought it was fitting you were offered the role first, what do you think?” 

Patrick looks stunned for a few moments before some of his co-workers push him forward, grinning at him. “Of course, Mr. Morningstar. I would be honored. Do you have any ground rules you would like maintained?”

Lucifer thinks about that for a moment. “The pay and benefits that all of you receive now is the minimum. Both for you and for new employees. Besides that, as long as you run it in a way that I would be proud of, I trust that you will make the proper decisions.” Patrick nods, resolving to keep LUX’s reputation as a place where people can come and be themselves without worry. 

Lucifer finds himself in the middle of all of his employees as they rush to hug him. He stiffens at first but relaxes into the tangle of limbs knowing how much he will miss the people in this building. He knows how many of them have taken his little lessons about not being overwhelmed by guilt to heart, so he knows that he will likely never see any of them again and he could not be prouder. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Patrick is treated so well in this fandom, he's the only canon employee we know!
> 
> As I said I was having trouble with writing the different parts to the whole chapter, not just this goodbye. I think it comes from the fact that Lucifer doesn't really say goodbye so it's hard for me to write it while still keeping him in character.  
> I will gladly take any and all feedback you guys have on this chapter because something doesn't sit quite right with me about it, if that makes sense. 
> 
> Anyway, the next parts to this chapter should be uploaded as I finish them which will hopefully be very soon!! *glares at motivation to write*


	6. Goodbyes: Linda

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer reveals his true identity to Linda and she takes it... well? As well as can be suspected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is only part of the full Linda chapter I had planned. Originally their entire interaction was to occur in one sitting but she needed time to come to terms with things on the show and I feel that makes sense with who she is. So, this is the first half of her interaction with Lucifer.

He knocks on Linda’s door instead of barging in like he normally does. He takes a deep breath, knowing what he came here to do. He waits for a moment before she opens the door, surprised to see him. 

“Lucifer? We don’t have a session.” She held the door open and stepped backward into her office, motioning for Lucifer to follow. He steps in after her and takes a seat on her couch. “So what brings you here Lucifer?”

“I came to say goodbye. I am returning to my former job as the Lord of Hell and leaving Los Angeles. It is highly likely that I will not return to Earth within your lifetime.” 

Linda sighs, his comment concerning her. “Lucifer, whatever you are planning to do, I beg you to reconsider.” He frowns at her before letting out a small sound of realization.

“Do not worry Doctor, I am not planning on offing myself. Now that my wings are back I can once again fly back and forth between planes. But I know that you take your patients personally and I don’t want to leave you with guilt over not being able to “cure” me.” Linda looks even more confused, she gets ready to interject but Lucifer keeps talking. “Please, doctor, put a hand over your eyes. My wings to have an extreme effect on people, particularly those who don’t have one faith in particular.” She frowns at him but does so and hears a soft woosh. “Alright doctor, please slowly peek through your fingers so you don’t get overwhelmed.” She starts to pull her fingers apart and is shocked at what she finds. Lucifer Morningstar, her patient, sitting on her couch, framed by a pair of massive luminescent white wings. She had been looking forward to the day when he would be honest with her about his identity so she could start helping him make true progress. She had never expected that he had been telling the truth about himself all along, that he really was the Devil. A bolt of fear rushes through her and she scrambles off her chair and presses her back against the opposite wall, something primal within her telling her that this man was her predator and she must escape. He holds out his hands placatingly and she sees his wings disappear with another soft woosh.

“You-you’re really…” she breaks off, unable to finish her sentence, unable to verbalize the ultimate truth she now knows. Because with the revelation of Lucifer’s identity comes the knowledge of the divine, knowing that there is a Heaven and Hell, that the father Lucifer so hated was The Father, wondering if her association with him was going to earn her an eternity of torment. Her mind spirals out of control until she can’t process anything happening in real life. Eventually Lucifer manages to get her attention and he sets a dagger on the table, one with inlaid patterns forged with an amazing attention to detail.

“Right.” He pushes the knife handle in her direction. “This is a Hell-forged blade, meaning it can actually hurt me and even kill me. I am placing a lot of trust in you Doctor that you won’t try to kill me but I would like to make sure that you feel safe while I endeavor to answer questions you may have.” He looks sheepish and she blinks at how familiar the expression is on what she knows is an immortal face. His words are so at odds with what she knows from her minimal readings of the bible that all of her memories rush over her like a cold shock to her system. She gets flashes of all of her different sessions with him, his infuriating habit of taking what he wants to hear from her words and rushing out, and the times she learned not to ask him a question she didn’t want a brutally honest answer to. For some reason, all of these little annoyances that come with his personality calm her, they remind her that although he is this powerful and immortal being, he’s also just Lucifer Morningstar, a billionaire playboy with some severe family issues. She takes a deep breath, slowly stands, and walks back toward her chair. She takes the knife and she notices him tense but she just hands it back to him. She knew that he had been hurt over and over again because people who fully trusted others in their life didn’t feel the need to ask them not to hurt them. She notices him staring at her and realizes that she probably needs to say something, but for the life of her she can’t think of anything rational to say.

“What about Hitler?” He blinks and looks taken aback.

“I beg your pardon? I am not Hitler if that is what you’re insinuating, nor was I involved in anyway with World War Two. I’m not evil, Doctor, but I know how humanity portrays me. I ask that you give me the benefit of the doubt?”

She shakes her head, clarifying before he can presume her meaning. “No, is Hitler in Hell? How did you torture him? Do you have a personal hand in deciding who goes to Hell?” 

He nods and looks a little bit relieved. “Right. Of course you have questions. Hitler is in Hell. His torture is more complicated than the average resident, but typically the demons mix things up with their torture of him. I do not, humans decide that all on their own, it is based off of your guilt. If you feel guilty over one big action it will drag you down or if you accumulate enough guilt from little actions over the course of your life you will also send yourself down. That is why I revealed myself to you.”

Linda laughs slightly, “Yes, revealed yourself to me, your true identity, because you’re the Devil. I miss the days when that would just be an innuendo.” Her eyes widen. “I had sex with the Devil.” Her laugh turns nervous, she now knew that as long as she didn’t feel guilty over it, which she didn’t, it wouldn’t send her to Hell. She remembered that he was here to answer questions of hers but she didn’t have any at the moment.

“I know you hope to answer questions for me, and I believe you have other intentions for coming to see me but I just learned a lot of information, and I think I need a little bit of time to process. Do you think you could come back in an hour or two? That should give me enough time to wrap my head around the basics and come up with some questions.” She looks at him, knowing that he would do as she asked.

He nods. “Of course Doctor. Anything for you. How about instead of me returning, potentially before you’re ready, you give me a call when you’d like to begin our talk. Does that sound alright?”

She nods gratefully. “That sounds perfect, thank you Lucifer.” He gives her a small smile before turning to leave and she finds herself watching his back as he goes, imagining the wings there once again. She calls out, “Lucifer! If you don’t mind my asking, what are you going to do until then?”

He grins widely, “I’ve got some business to take care of and some other people to say goodbye to before I leave. See you soon Doctor.” And with that, he disappears from the waiting room outside her office, leaving with a gust of wind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because Linda (I) need to brainstorm questions to ask Lucifer the next chapter will likely be him setting up the MorningStar Corporation and moving all of his money around. Since it was not a planned chapter it might take a bit longer but since it will mostly be business I'm not sure. For now, I will say Friday as a deadline to expect the next chapter.


	7. SO SORRY

I am so sorry guys! I’ve been trying to work on the next chapter and it was roughly 75% done but I got wrapped up in preparing to return to school. And then my computer has been having charging issues for a while so  
I finally took it to get fixed and they have to ship it back to fix the issue. It’s not a major problem and will hopefully be returned soon but that was my way of writing and uploading chapters. I’m the meantime I can try to work on my phone but to give a heads up it will probably have more grammatical errors and maybe shorter because I can’t really gauge how long the chapter is until I post it 

Once again I am so sorry but I thank you for all of your support and kind words and I should be back up and running soon *fingers crossed*


	8. MorningStar Corporation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer takes care of all the paperwork required for him to leave and names some interim CEOs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I managed to finish this chapter on my phone so I apologize if there are more grammar errors than usual. Please feel free to point them out if you find them.

“Mr. Morningstar are you sure that this is what you want to do?” His lawyer looked towards his accountant. “I mean I see no legal problems with it but you will be moving an exorbitant amount of money into this trust. And one of the trustees of this money isn’t even 10 years old!”

“I agree with her Mr. Morningstar. Are you really telling me that you want to set this little girl up as future CEO when you don’t know what her qualifications will be? Picking a successor who is currently seven is, quite frankly, absurd and irrational!” She huffs in exasperation. 

“Look, I plan on seeing her before I leave and informing her that if she does not wish to take the position she is not required to. I will also be explaining that if she does choose to take the position in the future that she has to be past a certain age, and that I request she runs it in a way that would make me proud. That’s all I really care about.” He didn’t see all of the issues the two women across from him were raising. He liked her well-enough, he wanted his money taken care of and she’s the only one he trusts now that the Detective is hunting him down. If she didn’t want to take the job she didn’t have to. So what if she’s only 7 right now? He’s been told she’s very mature for her age as a young spawn. “Besides, I’m really only setting up the company as a shell corporation that will take care of my annual donations and business expenses while I’m…inaccessible.” 

“About that,” his lawyer spoke up, “I’m afraid we’re going to run into some issues if you leave your company without a CEO and with no way to contact you in case of an emergency, shell corporation or not. So can you please leave an address, it doesn’t have to be public information.” She looks at him with a frustrated expression, he certainly was her most…interesting client.

He grins slightly. “Look Ms. Richards, Miss Howard. I cannot leave a specific address with you because I won’t be in a place with any one specific address.” He shrugs. “Sorry.”

“How about a region then? We can work with a region if need be, even though that isn’t the preferred option,” Miss Howard suggests with a hopeful look on her face.

Lucifer’s smile grows wider. “Why didn’t you say so? That, I can give you. I will be in Hell. Does that information suffice?” 

Rachel Howard barely resists slamming her head into the table in front of her and Charlotte Richards has a similar expression on her face. Charlotte sighs and decides to try a different tactic. “Mr. Morningstar-”

“Enough of this Mr. Morningstar nonsense, it’s Lucifer.”

She gives a terse nod and begins again, clearly uncomfortable calling a client by his first name. “Lucifer, if discretion is your concern, we both signed those contracts when we first started working for you, remember? The NDA‘s?” She gives him a pointed glance with her eyebrows raised. 

His brow furrows. He doesn’t remember drawing up any official contracts regarding their work with him. “Maze must have done that,” he mutters to himself. 

“What was that?” Miss Howard asks.

He figures that since they started working for him soon after he arrived in LA, Maze must have done it in his best interest because she was still loyal to him back then. He notices the two women giving each other slightly concerned looks so he mentally pins that train of thought for later and tunes back into the conversation. “Sorry, what’s an NDA?”

It’s Rachel’s turn to look supremely confused. How does this high-powered man whose main business is in deals and favors operate without knowing what an NDA is? “Um, sorry, I guess we both assumed that you had drawn up the paperwork. No matter, it’s still legally binding, I presume?” She gives a quick glance to Charlotte, who nods. “An NDA is a non-disclosure agreement. It’s a legal document between two parties agreeing that one, or both, will not talk about certain events, or maybe anything, surrounding a certain person. It varies depending on why the contract is necessary. For example, the contract we both signed,” she gestures to herself and Charlotte, “says that we aren’t allowed to talk about our work with you or any of your business ventures to someone you have not given explicit approval for us to do so. If we do, we face serious repercussions, that part was very meticulously outlined. But we both signed it. Which means that anything you say in this room, stays in this room.”

Lucifer is silent for a few moments. “Interesting.” He doesn’t understand why Maze thought it was necessary for them to sign an NDA before working with him. He wonders if he could ask her but knows he’d rather not speak to her again, as he is still smarting over her betrayal. 

Charlotte speaks up as she notices Lucifer losing focus on their conversation. “What’s interesting Mr. Morningstar?” He gives her a sharp look. “Sorry, Lucifer,” she amends.

“Nothing of importance.” And with that he returns to his gleeful disposition. “I’m afraid the only information I can give you regarding my location is that I will be in Hell.” He notices them both open their mouths as though they are going to speak but keeps going before they get a chance to. “It’s not that I don’t trust you ladies. It’s that I really will be in Hell and I cannot give you more information because that’s all the information there is. But, if you say that I need someone to run it, if in name only, then I appoint the two of you to run it, if you wish, until the child takes over, if she wishes to. Now, may I please sign the papers?” He fiddles with his cufflinks before reaching for the pen only to notice it was no longer in Ms. Richards’ hand. It’s dropped to the table and both her and Miss Howard’s mouths are agape. 

Charlotte recovers first. “Mr. Morningstar you can’t do this!” She looks at him incredulously.

“Why not? Is there a legal reason against it?” He asks, tilting his head slightly. 

She shakes her head a tiny bit. “I don’t believe so.”

He claps his hands together. “Good! If you find one, ignore it. I don’t care either way.”

Rachel pipes up. “But, Mr. Morningstar, we both have jobs already, jobs that we can’t put on hold to become the joint CEOs of your company.” She looks at him expectantly, hoping he’ll realize his error and appoint someone else, or maybe even say this was all a joke.

Unfortunately, he has a serious look on his face. “And I’m not asking you to. You said that I need a CEO, if only to have someone to make decisions in emergencies. The corporation is just serving as a way to keep my money safe until I, or anyone with the Morningstar name, returns. The only decisions that would need to be made would be regarding legal or financial matters.” He gestures to the two women in turn. “Since you two already handle these matters for me, it shouldn’t make much difference handling them for my company, especially since you won’t have to make them for me personally anymore.”

Rachel can feel her resolve weakening. He is making quite a bit of sense. It wouldn’t be too different from what she already does for him. She’s still on the fence until he mentions that she is welcome to give her herself a raise as she deems fit. She looks over at Charlotte and sees that those are the words that won her over too. She sighs heavily. “Alright. Fine. How are we determining our new salaries then?”

He grins with delight. “You humans love your money. I don’t want there to be a difference in your pay because you will be co-CEOs so I’d like both of you to write a proposed salary on a piece of paper and hand it to me. The highest number will be the new salary.” He knows that they could choose to pick an exorbitant number but he wants to use this as a test. To see if they care more about money than anything else. To see if they might be tempted to steal from him. They both scribble on their pieces of paper and pass it over to him. He looks them over, pleased to see that neither woman wrote down an insanely high number. “Alright. Charlotte’s choice will be the new salary,” he slides the paper back across, face-up this time. That should be enough for both of you to live comfortably and to discourage theft?” They both nod quickly. “Perfect! Papers please?” 

Rachel is about to slide the papers over to him before she remembers something he said in his original mini-speech about why they should take over, something that had struck a chord in her. “Wait a minute.” Lucifer groans. “Must we?” But she ignores him and continues, “You said the company was to keep your money safe until you, or someone with the Morningstar name, returns? How are you going to guard against frauds?”

He motions for her to pass over the papers. As he signs he thinks about her question. “I suppose that is a good idea. Humans might get too greedy. They might try to pretend to be related to me.” He knew it wasn’t a question of relation so much as recognition but decided to come up with a question that people must answer to prove their validity. “How about this? To properly gain access to my money, anybody claiming they have the right to do so, via a blood relation, must answer this question in their first try. How many minutes passed between the birth of my twin and myself? If people find out that I am not around to run my company and start trying to take control, then release a statement saying that I have appointed you two and named an heir. Anyone other than those three people must prove their relation to me by answering a question I put in place before leaving. However, don’t reveal that question to anyone who isn’t trying to prove relation. And you should make them sign one of those NBA things before telling them the question too.”

They were both hurriedly writing things down as he got up and turned to leave. “Wait! How do you know people won’t guess? What about other family members? And we actually need the answer in case anyone comes along who is related to you.” 

He turns back towards them slightly. “The answer is that it is a trick question. We were born within seconds of each other, not minutes, 3.9 to be exact. My mother was too out of it to keep track of the exact seconds and she had banished my father from her rooms. So, the only people who know that answer are myself and my twin, Michael.” With that, he turns and walks from the room, leaving two stunned women in his wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I used Charlotte Richards as his lawyer. I ended up characterizing her as somewhere between pre-Goddess and post-Goddess, when she decided to be a better person. 
> 
> I’m sorry for any legal inaccuracies. I tried to find out who he’d have to talk to about this but it seemed between lawyer and accountant so I just chose both. But I really have no clue about the varying legality of an arrangement like this so if any of this isn’t possible please just pretend it is.
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy! 😊


	9. Goodbyes: Trixie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer’s most painful good bye yet. He had grown quite fond of the child and wanted to make sure she was kept safe but wasn’t quite sure how to handle that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn’t planning on writing this chapter today but the ideas wouldn’t leave me alone so I sat down and wrote it. As always it is unbetad and comments are loved and appreciated!

He managed to drag Amenadiel along with him to the park where she was playing and waited until she was away from anything she would notice moving in slow motion before asking Amenadiel to freeze time but release her from his power’s hold. He knew that with the Detective still searching for him he wouldn’t be able to get close to her otherwise. 

He had always suspected that the spawn knew the truth. Children tended to have a sense of his divinity. He thinks it’s because they haven’t really been told what they can and cannot believe yet, so they’re minds are still open to all of the possibilities. Still, nothing could have prepared him for the words that came out of the child’s mouth when he told her he had to return to where he came from.

She gasps. “Hell?! You can’t go back there. My grandma says that that’s a bad place full of bad people and you’re a good person! You don’t deserve to be there!” She throws her arms around him and squeezes him tightly. 

He freezes momentarily, his eyes wide. He had been hoping he was wrong, that she didn’t know who he really was because he didn’t want to scar her forever. But here he was, accosted by a small child clinging to him, despite making it clear she knew he was the Devil only seconds earlier. He attempts to pry her off of him with no success. “Hold on. You knew?” He needed to be sure before he could freely speak with her.

She pulls back a bit and he uses this opportunity to take her arms off of him and put them in her lap. “Of course I knew, silly! You said you were the Devil and you also said you never lie so I figured you must be telling the truth. Also, you totally scared that bully for me! She never messed with me again!” She pauses. “But, you don’t act like the Devil my grandma talks about.” She looks at him with an inquisitive expression on her face. 

“Yes, well, humans believe many lies about me.” His eyes flash the tiniest bit red as he thinks about the Detective and how she is only the most recent to turn against him. 

“WHOA! That was so cool!! Can you do that again?!” Trixie exclaims and he blinks a couple of times, utterly confused.

“Do what?”

“That thing with your eyes! They changed color!” He winces, internally berating himself for letting the urchin see such an upsetting sight.

“No, I’m afraid not. My other face and all of its features are designed for torturing bad people. And you...small human, are not one of them.” She gives him puppy dog eyes. “No! Those won’t work on me. I’m the Devil! I’m the master of temptation! I rule over humans plagued by their guilt! Your little guilt trip won’t work on me!”

She tilts her head to the side slightly and lets her lip quiver a tiny bit. “Pretty please? I promise I won’t be scared! I won’t even ask to see your other face even though I really want to. I just want to see your eyes. Deal?” Despite knowing him for less than a year, Trixie already knows that deals are his weak spot.

As expected he perks up the tiniest bit. “A deal huh?” He thinks about it for a moment. “Counteroffer. I’ll show you just this once, but you aren’t allowed to ask to see my face or to use those evil eyes on me again.” He pauses. “And you must be honest if I scare you.”

Trixie grins. “You won’t! And that sounds good, but, you can’t just flash your eyes at me. You have to actually let me see them until I say stop. Deal?” She looks at him expectantly and he curses mentally. That was going to be his loophole.

He mulls over his other options before finally agreeing. “Deal.” He lets his eyes slowly shift to their Devil form, with fiery pupils and black sclera. He instinctively looks away from the child, not wanting to see the fear in her face. He feels hands on his cheeks and he looks back to see her right up in his face, staring at his eyes. He flinches back, not expecting that, and she giggles. 

“They’re so pretty! They look like fire! Do you have fire powers!” He gives a small chuckle despite himself before letting a small flame dance on the tip of his finger. She reaches out for it before pausing, remembering that she isn’t supposed to touch fire.

He grins. “My fire won’t burn you, child. It will only tickle. But that only applies to fire I personally create and control. You still can’t touch other flames, just this one.” Her smile grows and she pokes the tiny blaze hesitantly, when it doesn’t burn her she reaches her hand out, asking to hold it. He lets it dance over her hands, reveling in her glee. Eventually, he holds his finger out and she helps put it back where it originated and he snuffs it out. 

“That’s so cool! So do you have other powers? Because… that bird’s flying in slow motion.” Bloody Hell, he forgot about the birds!

“The manipulation of time is not one of my powers, that’s my brother’s domain. He is using his power to slow time at my request. Your mother suspects me of a bad crime and she wouldn’t allow me to be around you, but I knew I wanted to say goodbye. I hope you don’t mind?”

“Of course not! Why does mommy think you did it if you’re innocent?” She looks sad now, “Can’t you show her that you didn’t do it?” She really likes Lucifer and doesn’t want him to leave. “You shouldn’t have to go back to that awful place. I can see how sad it makes you.”

Lucifer’s face softens. Perceptive indeed. “Unfortunately all of the evidence is piled against me. And I have no way to prove I didn’t do it. So, I must leave. I’ve been shown that Earth is not the place for me, at least not right now. I must go back and rule my kingdom. It’s the burden of a king. As for it making me sad, I’m sure you’re just seeing things.”

She shakes her head vehemently. “NO! I can tell you don’t like it there Lucifer. I don’t want you to go. I’ll miss you!” She hugs him again, tighter than before, hoping that if she doesn’t let go he won’t leave. Tentatively, he hugs her back, the first time he’s ever done so, and she melts further into his embrace. He’s such a good hugger. 

He rubs his hand up and down her back slowly. “I’ll miss you too Beatrice. Deeply. But I want you to know that I will always be there for you, even if you can’t see me. In fact… I have an idea. Close your eyes child, and no peeking, I’m serious.” His solemn expression has her covering her eyes with both hands before burying her face in his chest. She feels his arms move around her as he manifests his wings and pulls out two small feathers. After he puts them away he tells her to open her eyes and she gasps at the beauty of the objects he holds out to her. 

She takes them reverently and he begins to explain. “These are two of my feathers. Yes, I have wings,” he says, answering her unspoken question. “They have healing properties, but you must use them wisely.” He looks deep into her eyes, hoping to impart how serious he is. “If you use them for small wounds, like scrapes and bruises, it will be a waste of their power. But if you use them on something that shouldn’t heal so fast, like a broken bone, if people knew you were injured it would raise a lot of red flags. I need you to promise me that you will keep at least one on you at all times and that you will only use it in case of an emergency. Now, they aren’t limited to just you. If someone you know is badly injured you can use it to save them. You just can’t tell them you used an angel feather to heal their injuries. Do you understand?” She nods solemnly. “Also, if you do use one, even if you still have another, you must let me know so that I can send you a replacement. Do you promise to do this?”

She nods again. “I promise Lucifer. But how am I supposed to keep a feather with me at all times? I don’t want to accidentally forget it somewhere! And how am I supposed to let you know if I use one? And…” she hesitates, “how will I know that you’re safe?” 

Lucifer lets out a small huff of air, simultaneously bowled over by her questions and by the amount of care she shows him. “One thing at a time. First, do you happen to have any metal with you?” She shakes her head. “No, I suppose you wouldn’t. Let me see if I can…” he trails off again, placing a hand against the ground and closing his eyes. “Ah! There we go!” He pulls his hand away and a small chunk of platinum rests on his palm. Her eyes widen as she reaches out but he closes his fist once more. When he opens it again there is a chain with a heart locket on it. He opens the locket and places both feathers inside before closing it and handing it to her. “There. You can keep them with you at all times and you got to see another one of my powers.”

Her eyes are still super wide. “What power was that?!” 

He finds himself laughing a tiny bit, actually excited to explain some of this to her and to show off the powers he had missed so much. “Since a good portion of the Earth’s metals are created from the death of stars, and I created the stars, I have control over the substances they produce. By putting my hand on the ground I was reaching out and sensing the metals underground around us. I called a piece to my hand and reshaped it for you.” He shrugs but can see the gears in her head turning as she tried to process everything he said. 

“Wait! You created the stars?!” She looks between him and the sky above them with awe and wonder in her face. “So you created the sun? And all of the stars in the night sky?!”

“Yes child, Lucifer means Lightbringer. When I was in the Silver City that was my job. My father said ‘Let There Be Light’, and so I lit up the universe.” 

“That’s so cool!” she shrieks, “and your metal powers are so cool too! I wish I had those powers! Then I could be just as cool as you, and I could-” He can tell she’s beginning a long-winded ramble so he cuts her off.

“Let’s address your other concerns, yes?” She falls silent and nods. “There is a way for you to communicate with me. I can’t talk back to you but I will receive your messages. Do you know about prayer?” 

“Yeah! Whenever we visit my grandma she takes me to church and we pray to God.” She pauses. “Wait, do you know God?”

He takes a deep breath, considering how to answer. He doesn’t want to destroy the child’s budding faith. As much as he finds it ridiculous he would never take that option away from others. So, he knows he must choose his words carefully. He decides to keep it simple, “He’s my father,” and hopes that she won’t ask any more questions. 

Surprisingly, she doesn’t. She seems to be able to sense that this isn’t something that he wants to talk about. Maybe it’s a similar ability to how children sense divinity?

“So then how do I pray to you? Do I just say Lucifer?” Her head is tilted again. 

He sighs deeply. He absolutely hates talking about this but he knows that he must, to protect the child. “No. You put your hands together like a typical prayer but you don’t say anything out loud. Instead, you have to think of your message with intent. Intend for it to reach me and it will. But… you must put the name Samael in the beginning.”

She looks even more confused than before. “Samael? Who’s that?”

He adjusts his cufflinks a couple of times before responding. “I am. That was my name before I…” he stops, considering. “Before I left Heaven,” he continues haltingly. “A lot of bad people pray to the name Lucifer so I stopped listening to prayers made in that name a long time ago. But my original name is almost forgotten. Nobody makes prayers in that name so if you do I will hear it and I will listen. But please know that I don’t like that name. So, if possible, use it sparingly.” 

She looks up at him and nods once more. “Understood.” She is silent for a few moments and he doesn’t attempt to interrupt what she’s clearly working up the nerve to say. “So, what about my last question? How will I know that you’re safe? Because if you can’t respond to me I won’t know!” He can hear her breaths quicken with panic and he puts his hand on her chest gently to calm her down. 

He gives her a reassuring smile before answering. “My feathers. As long as I am alive they will remain white and luminescent.” Her face twists with confusion and he frowns. “They will still glow.” She nods in understanding before hugging him again.

“Okay,” she says reluctantly, “but I still don’t want you to go.”

He ruffles her hair before he can think not to and flicks imaginary dirt off of his hands, making her giggle. “I know, but I must. I have left something behind for you though.” He opens his mouth to launch into his explanation about the company and the trust fund and everything else involved with that, but realizes that he doesn’t want to spoil the nice moment they’re having. Imagine, the Devil deciding to forgo discussions of a deal so he can have fun with a child. Impossible, and yet, that’s what’s happening. In the spur of the moment, he decides that he’ll write a letter to her explaining everything and leave it with Linda. 

She looks at him expectantly. “What?” He finds he has a large smile on his face. “Nevermind, I’ll make sure someone will tell you about it when you’re older.” Her face crumples and she opens her mouth to complain but he continues before she can. “Instead, how about I take you flying?” 

Her eyes widen and her mouth drops open with glee. “Really?! We can?! Yes yes yes yes yes! Let’s go now!”

He stands, picks her up, and spreads his wings. “Oh, you know you can’t tell anyone about any of this right?”

She rolls her eyes. “Duh!”

With a laugh, something he hasn’t truly done in what feels like forever, he takes off. He trusts that time will still be frozen when they get back so he holds Beatrice close as they soar through the clouds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally I had planned to have Lucifer tell Trixie but it just didn’t feel right so he will be writing a letter instead.
> 
> Also, I always felt that his manipulation of locks and his ability to make a car start was a result of telekinesis in regards to metal, maybe just weakened because his wings were cut off. 
> 
> Enjoy!


	10. Linda, Take Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linda asks Lucifer some of her burning questions, finds out about some of his plans, and says goodbye to man who’d become her friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mention the Tribe in this chapter because I needed Linda to have already been friends with Chloe. So pretend that Ella already works with them and the Tribe just started earlier, and Maze doesn’t live with Chloe of course.
> 
> Unbetaed. I always love and appreciate comments! Enjoy!

The minute he had walked out of her office Linda had scrambled to her desk to start writing down questions she had. Well, that wasn’t quite accurate. She sat in her chair for a while—she wasn’t sure how much time passed—and processed her new world view. 

Now that same man—same creature?—that turned everything upside down sat across from her, on the same couch he had occupied so many times. Because he was her patient, her patient was the Devil. Yeah, that made sense. He looked extremely nervous to be in the same room with her. With a jolt, she realized that he was probably waiting for her to reject him, as so many others had likely done to him over the years. She takes a deep breath. “I’m glad you’re back Lucifer. I half expected you to just run.” 

He chuckles dryly. “I told you I would come back so I did. If I’m being honest, and you know I never lie, I didn’t really expect to get a call from you asking me to come back.” A whole range of emotions flickers across his face before she can try and take note of what they are. “I assume that means you have questions?”

She nods. “Yes, I do. So, how would you like to do this? Do you want to talk about it from the beginning or would you rather me just ask you my questions and then you answer?”

“I would prefer that you ask and I answer so that I do not accidentally overwhelm or scar you with too much information. If that is alright?” He says hesitantly, willing to do it the other way if she desires.

“That sounds good to me.” She pauses, looking between him and her notepad. “I just don’t know where to start.”

“Well, when we last spoke you mentioned one of the most common questions I receive, at least post World War 2 that is. Something about Hitler?” He prompts her.

“Right. So you mentioned that he’s...down there. But how did you actually torture Hitler in Hell? Is his cell next to Idi Amin’s? Or Mussolini’s? Or is there kind of a tyrant wing in Hell?”

He smiles slightly. At least she’s asking questions and not just running scared. “I am not going to provide you with an answer to that first question because I don’t think you actually want to know. As for the other questions, there is a sort of tyrant wing but it is more out of convenience than anything else. They all wound up close to each other by coincidence.”

She scribbles furiously, she cannot hope to process any of this fully right now but wants to be able to at a later date. “What about my uncle Edwin? Is he down there? I mean-cause he was,” she laughs “he was one bad mama jama.”

He tilts his head a tiny bit. “I am not intimately acquainted with every single soul that enters my domain. There are far too many for that and that is what I have demons for. I only personally tend to those that don’t have guilt or the worst of the worst. Unless he was one of those I wouldn’t know,” he pauses, thinking about it some more, “Also, if he died within the last 5 years I would have no clue no matter who he was because I haven’t been down there.”

“Alright. Will I be going to Hell? Not because of my association with you, just in general?” She bites her lip, this was the question she was most nervous to ask him, but also the question she wanted to ask him the most. He was blunt and honest, most of the time. He wouldn’t try to make her feel better by feeding her lies. If she was headed down there he’d let her know

“What makes you think you’d go to Hell?” he asks, eyes widening slightly with increased curiosity. 

“There are things you don’t know about me. So, am I?” 

He shakes his head. “No, Doctor. As of right now, your soul is bright with purity. As long as you don’t feel guilty you will never make your way to my kingdom.”

She feels her shoulders relax, releasing tension she hadn’t been aware she was carrying. “Thank you. So, you mentioned guilt being the primary factor but you also mentioned that some souls in Hell don’t feel guilt. How does that work?”

“Ah. The semantics, always interesting to discuss. So, originally the plan had been that guilt would be the sole factor. Then Cain was born, he was the first sociopath. After he killed his brother, Abel, Dad realized that if Cain were to die he would end up in Heaven, so he put the Mark on him until he could fix the system but then decided it was a fitting punishment so he left it. He’s actually still alive somewhere. I wonder what he’s up to?” 

He gets lost in thought for a moment before clearing his throat, “Anyway, after him, it became that the primary factor was guilt but if you murdered someone you also weren’t allowed access to Heaven.” He sighs heavily. “Then as humans grew and evolved, you found ways around those rules and invented torture. So, the system had to be adjusted again. If you were guilty of torturing another living soul the gates of Heaven were also barred to you. Things continued on in a similar fashion, the only changes being made to Heavenly restrictions until the first human had to kill another in self-defense. They remained in limbo for a bit while Dad figured out what to do. Eventually, he decided that since it had been a true moment of self-defense and the soul had no other choice he absolved them of their guilt and allowed them into Heaven, and that became the new addition to the rules. Of course, as time went on there were more and more things to feel guilty about. My brothers and sisters started to realize that fewer and fewer souls were making it into Heaven so they set a benchmark. It was determined that the people who went to Hell would be those that weren’t allowed into Heaven and those who feel guilt over things they should feel guilty about.” He frowns. “Unfortunately every system has its errors. There are quite a few souls who felt guilt for something that was perceived as wrong during their time but that is no longer the case. Souls whose guilt over various events add up. People who slipped through the cracks or just barely missed the cutoff. And, all suicides end up in Hell. It’s perceived as a rejection of his gift of life.” He’s staring at the wall in Linda’s office, his mind clearly somewhere else entirely. “I try to minimize the torture of their loops but there is only so much I can do.”

They sit in silence for a while, Lucifer lost in his thoughts, and Linda trying to sort through everything she was told about the divine justice system and some of the unfairness about eternal salvation versus eternal damnation. 

At some point, Lucifer shakes himself out of his thoughts, mood much darker than before. “Any other questions?”

She blinks a couple of times before looking back down at her list. “Yeah. You mentioned gates. Are there actual gates? Like, big and pearly? Are we talking clouds? Harps? Old dudes in white robes?”

“And my dad is Morgan Freeman?” he responds snarkily. “No. Well, sometimes. Maybe? It’s been so long since I was up there that it has likely changed, at least somewhat. But for the first humans, it was whatever they felt comfortable with. It was still a city but they would find shops and landmarks from the places that reminded them of home. I’m sure by now it is a veritable melting pot with various districts but I’m not sure. Sorry.” He looks a bit disappointed that he couldn’t answer her question.

“No, don’t be. I should’ve thought about that before I asked.”

She pauses, knowing that she might be bringing up a sensitive topic but wanting to understand the reasons behind his outburst in her office that day. “Do you remember our session when you happened to punch a hole in my wall?”

He winces. “Ah yes. Sorry again about that. I was..riled up.”

“The information that I confronted you with that day. Was that true? Because a colleague told me about it, but when I did some research I could barely find any information about Samael.”

He winces again, harsher this time. “Sorry Doctor. That was my brother, Amenadiel. He was trying to manipulate me and used you to do so.” Her mind starts swimming with all of the various ethical concerns and issues that this raises and the only thing that stops her from spiraling into panic is Lucifer’s voice. “The reason my reaction was so...violent that day was that my wings had been stolen and I didn’t appreciate that. I was already on edge and then you confronted me with a name I hadn’t heard applied to myself in millennia and...well… you know the rest.” He looks away from her again, not wanting to meet her eyes. 

She nods in understanding. “That explains most of your comments that night. So, before you fell you were known as Samael. Not anymore, obviously.” she adds hastily, seeing his shoulders tighten and his eyes harden. “But, you mentioned the first couple of humans entering Heaven so I presume tempting Eve wasn’t the reason you were kicked out?”

“No, it was the first strike, if you will.” He keeps his answer brief, uncomfortable with the topic of discussion. His shoulders are hunched slightly, at odds with the perfect posture he always maintains, and his eyes show the depths of his knowledge and experience.

“Then, if you don’t mind my asking, what was the second strike? And why did you Fall?”

His eyes flash between brown and red rapidly as he struggles to control himself. “Actually Doctor I do mind. That is one topic that I would rather not discuss.” 

She backs off immediately and changes the subject to something she figures he’d like talking about, himself. “Understood. How about your powers? Why is your gift desire?”

“Well, that’s a good question actually, I suppose. When I first went to angel school they sorted us into different houses for different powers.”

“There’s a school for angels?” she asks in disbelief.

“No.” He laughs, “There’s no Hogwarts in the sky.” 

“Right” She laughs along with him for a couple of moments. “Obviously.” He keeps laughing and she waits for him to stop before asking, “Are you using humor to deflect my very reasonable question?” 

He sighs “Look, if you must know we were all born this way, each with our own God-given abilities.”

“But what came first?” He raises an eyebrow slightly. “Do angels’ powers shape their personalities or do  
your personalities shape your powers?” 

He shrugs. “Haven’t a clue.” She frowns slightly, surprised that he doesn’t seem to care all that much. “Look, all I know is that my powers are perfect for me. Desire is the ultimate expression of free will. I help people do whatever, or whomever they want.” He gives her a slight suggestive glance up and down but she ignores it.

“But that’s it?” He looks confused, unsure of what she’s asking. “There isn’t more to it?”

“I don’t know Doctor, but desire is only one of my talents. I have many different abilities. Especially now that my wings are back.” He grins lasciviously and diverts the subject. “Of course, I still have the talents you are familiar with. Care to explore?”

She raises an eyebrow. “No Lucifer. I told you. We’re done with that. But I thought you lost your wings? That you cut them off and then after they were stolen from you, you burned them?”

He nods. “I did, they grew back.” 

“Are wings like,” she pauses, trying to figure out what to compare it to, “Body hair?” 

He looks almost offended at her suggestion. “No, don’t be so ridiculous.”

She gives a scathing look. “As ridiculous as the existence of angels to someone who just found out?” She raises her eyebrows expectantly. 

“Touché Doctor. Anyway, with the wings comes more of my divinity. They’re the main source of it so when I cut them off I was limited to just my basic abilities: invulnerability, immortality, slight metal manipulation, divine magnetism, and the ability to draw out people’s desires.” 

She cannot possibly begin to comprehend the fact that the man sitting across from her is such a powerful being, even at his lowest point in terms of divinity. “So now that you have your wings back you have your full powers again?”

He frowns, eyes clouding over. “No. I lost my Lightbringer powers a long time ago, back when I Fell. So I don’t have access to those, beyond the ability to create and control relatively small flames. Nothing like the original scope of my powers.”

Her eyes widen again. “Right, right, right. Lightbringer powers. Cause you lit the stars. That was you. Sitting right here in front of me. That’s not crazy or mind-blowing at all. Totally normal.” He gives her a slight grin.

“I must commend you, you are handling this remarkably well. I’m impressed. Any other questions?”

She looks down, considering. “Just one. Why now? You mentioned you’re returning to Hell so why reveal yourself to me at all? Am I the only one you told?”

He smirks, “Well that was actually three questions Doctor but I will answer them nonetheless. I also talked to Trixie, but she already knew, children often have a sense for divinity. Other than that, I’m pretty sure my staff at LUX knows but I didn’t confirm nor deny anything for them.”

She interrupts before he can continue. “Why not tell Chloe? Why only her child?” She knows that the detective and the Devil had been getting closer, despite Lucifer’s constant attempts to pull away and wonders what has him pulling away so completely that he won’t even talk to her. 

“For starters, she currently believes that I murdered someone. A preacher that was annoying me on the street and accusing me of being involved in the Satanic murders happening recently. His body was found at my club, along with the murder weapon, or so I heard. I can’t prove it wasn’t me so this just showed me that it is time for me to return to my throne. I told Trixie because I wanted to say goodbye but also to make sure that she was safe. Speaking of…” she’s left speechless as he brings his wings into view and pulls out two small feathers from along the edge and holds them out to her. She takes them from him, not sure what to do with the honest to God—oops, can’t use that phrase anymore—angel feathers in her hand. “My feathers have healing properties. Those are only to be used in case of an emergency. I trust you know what situations apply? If you use one and need more pray to the name I hate. I’ll know it’s serious and I’ll make sure another makes its way to you.”

“So you wanted to protect Trixie and say goodbye. And for me you wanted to protect me and ensure I didn’t have guilt? That still doesn’t really explain why now. Couldn’t you have come back at some point and explained all of this then?” He looks at her with a rueful expression on his face and she understands. “You don’t plan on coming back.” 

“I’m afraid not. At least, not for a while. So, I set up some trust funds and a company to take care of my money while I am gone. One of the accounts will be for Trixie to access once she turns 18 and I’ve written a letter explaining all of that to her. You’ve gotten closer to the Detective recently, right? Become friends?” Something about a Tribe?” She nods. “Good. The letter is in a safety deposit box. Once Beatrice turns 16 I would like for you to give her the key to that box, if you wouldn’t mind?”

She shakes her head slightly. “Of course I don’t mind. But, why so late?”

He barrels on as if he hadn’t heard her. “The other trust fund is set up so that you can access it. As a thank you for all of your help.”

She finds herself nodding along as her brain tries to process everything she’s hearing. When it does, her thoughts coming to a screeching halt. “Hold on! Me?! Lucifer I can’t accept that!” 

He smirks. “I knew you would say that and that is why I set it up before I came here so you couldn’t stop me.” He takes her hand in his. “If you truly never wish to touch the money then you don’t have to. If you want to donate all of it to charity then you can. Do whatever you’d like, I don’t care. Think of it as a rainy day fund, that’s the proper phrase right?” 

She laughs incredulously. “Yeah, that’s the phrase. So how much is in this trust fund? Just so I won’t be blown away by the number of zeroes.”

He considers her question for a moment. “Not that large of a percentage I believe. Somewhere around 5%?” She calms a bit. Only 5%. That’s good, that’s likely somewhere around $100,000 rather than the million she was worried about. “Now, you asked why so late?” He hesitates, actually taking the time to think through his words before speaking. “I want you to be able to tell the Detective the truth at some point so that you have another human to talk to about Celestial stuff. But, if she were to react poorly, I don’t want her reaction taking over the spawn’s budding beliefs. If that does happen, I hope that by her receiving the letter at 16, she will be at an age where she can make responsible decisions based on her own beliefs. The same thing applies to the trust fund, along with the fact that I wouldn’t want her to spend it in an overwhelmingly irresponsible fashion.” 

She continues to write down as much as she can, meticulously filing information away for later. When he holds out the key to the box she takes it and promises to keep it safe, along with the two feathers. She tells him she hopes to see him again but laughs as a horrified expression crosses his face and she has to explain that she meant on Earth, not in Hell. That thought still sends shivers down her spine and throughout the rest of her body. 

He gets up and turns to leave but she hugs him before he can stop her, knowing how much she will miss her fascinating patient and friend, ethical concerns be damned. He gives her a small pat on the back but starts to grow uncomfortable before too long. He pulls away and takes a step backward. He lets his wings spread again, basking in her natural adoration of them before disappearing out of her office. 

She’s left with the air rustling her papers and the lingering sound of a soft “Goodbye”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small note that I changed some of Linda’s dialogue from the show, from the part about angel school (S3E09) because what they had her say didn’t really make sense. 
> 
> So since tomorrow is the premiere of Season 5a I will probably not be posting a chapter for a little while as I will likely be trying to process all of my feelings. So excited!
> 
> I might post another Author’s Note just discussing some of the things I plan to include, vaguely, to get your guys’ feedback on whether you want to see it or not. Some of it I’m willing to change and some of it I’m not but I will make that very clear in the note. 
> 
> Also, just as a general question that I will probably keep adding at the end of chapters. Would you prefer this as one long fic or as multiple in a series? The only difference would be how it’s broken up but we’re getting somewhat close to the point where, if you want multiple fics, it would be the end of this one.
> 
> I will end this note here because it’s already super long but I hope everyone has a good day and enjoys the premiere!


	11. Author’s Note

Hi guys! So as I previously mentioned this author’s note is to discuss some of the decisions I’ve made for this fic and some of the decisions that are still up for debate. 

To start, based on your feedback (Super helpful thank you so much! ☺️) I’ve decided to split this into multiple stories. As a result, this first installment will end where I had originally planned to end this fic all together before my brain ran away with ideas. I will give you a heads up that you might be dangling over the edge of a cliff, depending on how you look at it. But, I’ve always been the person that, when an author has two characters reconcile, I’m sitting there thinking “but what if they died instead and there was pain for everybody involved”. That being said, I currently have it planned with a happy ending, just don’t expect the road there to be easy. 😈

Another decision that I had made was regarding Deckerstar. Now, I understand that in the show they are almost positively going to get together, but I’m not such a big fan of that, at least not with Chloe being portrayed as the victim all of the time. I’m not saying Lucifer didn’t handle things badly at points, but there were a lot of moments that she was kind of being a toxic friend and I intend to explore at least a little bit of that in this fic (along with some Chloe bashing). So, if there is an eventual pairing (don’t want to give too much away) it would be Lucifer with either an original male or female character. This is a decision I’m not gonna change, at least for this fic. I might write something in the future that really explores all of the ups and downs between Deckerstar but this isn’t it. 

A decision that I am willing to give some leeway on is the rating of this fic. I don’t feel super comfortable writing explicit smut, especially as part of a longer work. If you guys really want it then maybe I’ll write and post it separately but I wouldn’t put it as part of the overall chapters. It would be something where, in the official story characters would maybe start something and I would write that but cut off before it got too explicit, or I would just allude to it. But if there’s a scene that you really want to see continued I guess let me know and I’ll consider writing it. 

One final decision that I am open to going either way. I saw a headcanon that really resonated with me and it was the idea that angels are gender fluid. They present themselves how they like, and some may keep that form forever, but others change their physical appearance as they see fit. Such as Lucifer. I think it would be really fun to write a female Lucifer but I also know that if I don’t write it as a part of this fic I’ll end up writing something else revolving around it and post that. So please, give me your honest opinion on whether you want to see this, and if so how much. I won’t be offended if you guys don’t want that as a part of this story. 

I hope you enjoy Season 5a tomorrow. As I mentioned I will be binging it and so I might be emotionally unavailable for a little while 😅

I don’t think there’s anything else I need to mention at this moment besides. Thank you so much for all of the support and love! It makes me so happy seeing that you guys like the story and I love receiving feedback from all of you!


	12. Author’s Note Part Two

Okay. So. I finished Season 5a. I’m not going to say anything specific about it as I want to avoid spoilers and I ask that you guys do as well. But, I will say that I am not okay, or maybe I am? I’m really not sure. What I do know is that this has impacted what I was planning to write for the story, which is what I was afraid of. 

As a result, I think it might be a couple of days before I post a new chapter as I need to figure out whether I will adhere to new canon elements or whether I will divulge and go down the headcanon route. So, please bear with me! If I have further updates on the next chapter status I will put them as chapter notes here, but I didn’t want to just leave you guys hanging with no explanation in case it takes a bit longer. In the meantime, I might end up trying to reset my brain by writing another song fic in my other series, I’m not sure yet. Thank you for your patience!


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